I thought I was zeroed in on the Nikon D70s untill I started researching the FinePix S3. Everything makes sense to me except the 12 mp label on the Finepix. Is it trulya 12 mp camera? Can someone give me some pros and cons on both who have experience with them? I have read reviews till I'm blue in the face:?

I don't have an S3, but I have a camera with the Super SR chip, S20Pro, which interpolates 3.1+3.1mp. Fuji claims the S20 is a 6.3 megapixel camera, but I often just use the 3 megapixel mode, if I'm not in RAW.

The cool thing about the Super SR chip is the two sets of images it takes in RAW mode, which lets you adjust the dynamic range, and since I mainly do outdoor work, it helped me personally, although many reviews claim they can't see a significant difference.

I was a hair away from buying an S3Pro, but the Canon 20D sucked me in. I can't personally tell you about my experience with the S3, except when I was testing it out, and if I had one, I'd shoot either is wide dynamic RAW, or 6mp jpg. That's basically what I do with my S20, is either shoot it in RAW, or at 3mp jpg.

So basically, you do get 12 million recorded pixels if you use RAW, but in order to get the best per pixel resolution, I would use the 6mp jpg.

I took the Canon over the Fuji S3 and Nikon, primarily because they are both Nikon based and the SDK's are next to impossible to get ahold of, but in your case, I would recommend the S3 over the D70s, mainly because if you know how to use those RAW files, the SuperCCD SR chip is an amazing feat in digital technology. Basically, do you work a lot with RAW files, and if the answer is yes, is the quaility difference worth $1,000.

Yes, thank you. You did help. I am getting back into the digital world after a 15 year hiatus from transparency and negative photography. My last experience was with the F4s Nikon, (which I still own.) I am looking at the Nikons and the S3 because I have Nikon AF lenses. I am now leaning towards the Fuji. I still don't understand the 12 mp issue very well. I understand how the S and R pixels work, but still don't know how they get 12mp out of this?

the only reason i would see that the s3 would be justified is if you were a working portrait or wedding photographer.. then the wide mode film simulation would allow you to get very nice images without doing much post processing..

otherwise the sluggish nature of the s3 pro puts it at a disadvantage to the nikon d70s..

both are very good tools, just have distinctly different niches.. the d70s is a better general purpose camera, where the s3 pro really is a portrait/wedding tool..

others may have differing opinions.. be sure to read as many reviews as possible before making your decision..

I was at the bookstore today and noticed that one of the photography mags had a review of the S3. Sorry I don't remember which mag it was. I just skimmed the review, but it seemed to have a pretty good explanation of how the Super CCD worked.

The SuperCCD SR is layed out like a normal sensor, except instead of one "pixel" per photosite, there are two. One is large, and one is small. The large one captures the highlights, the small one captures shadows. I've found with my S20 it's easiest to see in eyes. If you can test out the S3, take it outside, take a picture of someone and intentionally overexpose it. The darker pixels will compensate, while if you underexpose the image, the lighter pixels will compensate.

Your question about how they get 12mp out of it, since there are 12 million photo detectors, they can market it as a 12mp camera. I personally think of it as a 6mp camera, because it is taking two 6mp pictures at once and combinding them.

Anyway, I spent many hours trying to decide between a 20D and a S3Pro, and the deciding factor for me ended up to be the versatility of the camera: what can I use it for.

Well, I'm past the coin flipping stage, and am on the verge of throwing the CC for the S3. Any further recommendations? Also, I will be using this camera to photograph Gun parts and accessories for a catalog. How do you think it will work for this niche?

it should be more than adequate for photographing gun parts and accessories.. i would recommend you look into gettin a lightbox - this will provide even illumination and a non-distracting background... a cheaper option would be a ring flash with some sort of homemade or purchased seemless background..